Village Voice Fires Latest Editor After Argument Over Diversity

By JULIE BOSMAN

Published: March 3, 2007

David Blum, the editor in chief of The Village Voice, was fired abruptly last night after a six-month tenure, a spokeswoman for the paper said.

''David Blum is no longer the editor,'' said Maggie Shnayerson, the spokeswoman.

The firing followed a stormy editorial meeting on Wednesday at which staff members argued about the newspaper staff's lack of racial diversity, several people who were present said. The staff members, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said that Mr. Blum had made several comments that some staff members found offensive.

''The incident this week brought to a head concerns that the newspaper's management had for a period of time,'' Ms. Shnayerson said, declining to elaborate.

But two people who were present at the meeting said they were astonished that Mr. Blum's remarks would lead to his firing.

''There were disagreements about the amount of emphasis he had given so far to hiring minorities,'' one person said. ''There was nothing said in that meeting by David Blum that was racist.''

Efforts to reach Mr. Blum by telephone yesterday were unsuccessful.

The Voice has had four editors in little more than a year, beginning with Don Forst's resignation in December 2005. His replacement, Doug Simmons, was fired in March after a reporter was found to have fabricated parts of an article. Erik Wemple, the editor of Washington City Paper, was hired in June but resigned two weeks later. Mr. Blum began his stint last September.

In October 2005, New Times Media merged with Village Voice Media, based in Phoenix, and adopted the name. A spokeswoman for Village Voice Media did not return calls.

During the biweekly meeting, attended by roughly 25 to 35 staff members, the subject of the paper's readership was raised, several people who were present said. One staff member suggested that the paper's mostly white readership reflected the predominantly white editorial staff.

One staff member who was present at the meeting said the meeting quickly escalated into a ''fierce'' discussion over Mr. Blum's perceived failure to hire minorities, he said.

Mr. Blum incited some staff members by using the words ''the shortage'' to refer to a lack of available minority journalists, the staff member said. ''After things got very intense, he referred to the discussion as 'a waste of time,' '' he said.

Bill Jensen, the director of new media for Village Voice Media and a former editor of The Boston Phoenix, will serve as interim editor in chief, Ms. Shnayerson said.